Past opportunity
Sharing & Rental Business Models for Battery Products in the Emerging Markets with Husqvarna Group
Industry
Sustainable products and services
Revenue
2020
$4.4B
Employees
2020
13,000+
Countries
2020
100+
About
As a global leader in outdoor power equipment, the Husqvarna division are looking for solutions to help us accelerate the transition from petrol to battery powered products in the Emerging Markets. We are specifically interested in solutions for the sharing economy business models, equipment rental platforms and other go-to-market channels for our battery powered outdoor equipment that will enable us to build up quickly and drive efficient customer-focused execution in either Asia or Sub-Saharan Africa.
Theme description
Husqvarna Group has designed, produced and sold products and services for over three centuries in more than 100+ countries. Our business strategy drive us towards providing an access to our products rather than ownership and towards low-carbon solutions. The following challenge is provided by our Husqvarna Division, the world’s leading producer of forest and garden products and services.
In the transition to low-carbon solutions, we experience that the introduction of battery powered outdoor products in emerging markets would significantly contribute to reducing local emissions. The adoption of battery products is hindered by the initial higher cost of the battery pack and customers’ unfamiliarity with the advantage of our battery portfolio has compared to petrol-based outdoor power products. By providing a sharing solution for the battery pack, and possibly also for the gardening tool itself, we aim to accelerate the introduction and adoption of battery products. We also aim to achieve a better utilization rate for the tools and extend the use of the product to its full lifetime. The Husqvarna Division has ongoing initiatives for sharing solutions where Tools for you is one example. Now we are looking for a solution that fits especially in the emerging markets with the aim to accelerate the introduction of battery products.
This opportuinty is part of Husqvarna Group’s Sustainovate Open. Read more about Sustainovate Open and Husqvarna Group’s Sustainability targets here.
Opportunity overview
We are looking for a solution suitable for the emerging markets with a focus on either Asia or Sub-Saharan Africa. Based on our internal research, there is a growing interest in sharing economy and rental business models in major Asian and Sub-Saharan African countries, which has the potential to significantly decrease carbon emissions in the respective areas. We are now looking for partners with innovative solutions to help us tap into this potential with our outdoor power products.
The solution should attract both residential and professional users, both existing- and new customers of the Husqvarna Division. Our requirements for a solution include a user-friendly experience, a cost-effective system for maintenance, ability to handle multiple languages, potential for a scale up to cover more markets, and a solid support structure behind the concept (helpdesk, customer service, troubleshooting). With this challenge we are searching for an innovative partner with capabilities for market activation and monetization in our target markets.
In addition, a digital solution for monitoring the usage of the tools and their environmental impact is a valuable part of the solution. Another important aspect is the way to drive activation of the solution in the marketplace: the required (digital) engagement that needs to be created with potential customers will require creativity and a change from more traditional ways of going to market. In short, we are looking for the key elements to run this business model in full from activation to execution, day to day setup, including options for hardware and software solutions.
Focus Areas
Examples of solutions we’re interested in
Sharing & rental business models
We believe that circular-, sharing-, and rental business models, where we shift from ownership to access, will be a more significant part of our offering in the future. We want to explore models for renting by the hour/day, Pay-Per-Use and subscription that is suitable for Emerging Markets. We require cost effectiveness for all parties, user friendliness (UI & UX), possibility to include other manufacturers, and easy set-up processes, especially if physical outlet is required.
Adapted to the local market
We are looking for solutions that fit the local market demand and needs, rather than applying a model from other parts of the world. The most suitable model and set-up will vary per country and customer group (residential, professional, farmer, gardener), consequently we are not expecting a universal solution. The solution provider can focus on a specific region and customer segment. Moving forward we can bring the learning from one region and adjust the solution to fit other markets.
Go-to-Market Channel
We sell our products through a variety of channels in emerging markets: distributor, dealer, e-commerce and B2B, but battery product introduction is still slow. We are looking for innovative solution to help us introduce battery products to customers. The solution could, potentially, involve new channel partners, but could also be part of a proposition we bring to our existing partners (e.g. dealers, distributor, landscapers, etc.).
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